That is an assumption that has been proven wrong over and over again.
Has it really? I would think, that getting gamers to voluntarily pay for anything would be a huge challenge, when they so often aren't willing to even pay for games they're playing. Sure, there are some successful Patreons and Kickstarters and whatnot, but it's not as simple as replacing ads with a donation button, that isn't going to work for the wast majority of content creators. When even Wikipedia, a resource used by half a billion people each month, struggles to get donations, what chances does everyone else have? I agree with you, that donations would be the ideal future, but I don't share your optimism.
Has it really? I would think, that getting gamers to voluntarily pay for anything would be a huge challenge, when they so often aren't willing to even pay for games they're playing. Sure, there are some successful Patreons and Kickstarters and whatnot, but it's not as simple as replacing ads with a donation button, that isn't going to work for the wast majority of content creators. When even Wikipedia, a resource used by half a billion people each month, struggles to get donations, what chances does everyone else have? I agree with you, that donations would be the ideal future, but I don't share your optimism.